Night Watch
by IzumiTheMoogle
Summary: Each of the StrawHats takes a shift on the watch every night aboard the Thousand Sunny. And eventually, they all tend to think about the same things while they're out there... -Nakamaship One-Shot-


**Hey guys! Time for yet another One Piece one-shot from yours truly! ^^**

**I got the idea for this one, actually, last night when I was having the toughest time sleeping. XP I really wanted to write it, so here we are! **

**This one-shot just focuses on all of the current StrawHats' views on "watch"; something that we all know happens, but never really see in the series. I wanted to kind of think of what I think they would do during their assigned "time". It's kind of a nonsense one-shot I suppose, but I really wanted to try something from each of the crew's perspectives. It's a good challenge for me! **

**The inspiration for the format of this story comes from Tatsumaki-sama's "Keeping A Memo". It's an excellent story, and you should all go and look Tatsu-maki-sama up after this if you haven't already! One of my very favorite authors, they are. :)**

_To Brooke, watch was nostalgic. _Every night when he would step out for his shift, the skeleton would pour himself some tea from a thermos that never seemed to run out, and lean on the Thousand Sunny's railing, sipping his drink slowly and reminiscing about old times. Though he had taken it upon himself to protect his new crew in every way that he could- even if that meant sacrificing himself even though he was already dead, yohohoho- Brooke found that most every watch night was calm and serene. Those quiet nights would always remind him of the lonely fifty years he spent sailing the foggy waters around Thriller Bark, and the emptiness he felt when he listened to the Tone Dial for what must have been the billionth time. It was true, he missed the Rumbar Pirates. But he knew that there was no time for dwelling on the past now. He had Nakama; a reason to live. And he also had a fifty-year-old promise to keep to a sea-bound friend that was left behind… Now his nights were never lonely.

_To Franky, watch was handy. _His shift, one of the first, allowed him to get a lot of things done around the Sunny. He would go over every inch of the ship twice during his time at night, tapping any loose nails back into place, or repairing broken parts. Needless to say, it was a lot easier to work when you didn't have a carefree Mugiwara breathing down your neck, just _waiting_ to break something. Or when you didn't have a long-nosed sniper always insisting on helping, even though you told him a million times that you could handle it. It _was_ your job, after all. And Franky wasn't modest about his shipwright skills. But as the mechanic screwed on a loose bolt and polished the water tank below deck, he couldn't help but smile at all of the good memories the Sunny already held. True, his Captain and crewmates could be really annoying when it came to fixing things, but they were his Nakama. And Franky had to admit that he wouldn't want to sail around the world with anyone but them.

_To Robin, watch was peaceful. _Almostalways calm and composed herself, Robin actually enjoyed her time out on watch. She always situated herself in the same spot every night; atop the crow's nest- which also now doubled as Mr. Swordsman's workout room, though she didn't mind- and sit close to one of the windows so that the moonlight could light the pages of whatever book she was reading presently. Every now and then, she would look up at the stars, a smile coming across her face as she watched them glitter in the sky, uninhibited by life on the earth. A coffee cup would usually rest on the windowsill, the steam sometimes fogging up the window so that Robin had to rub it off. Every night Mr. Cook would have a special brew of coffee waiting in the kitchen, just for her. She giggled at the cook's antics sometimes, but was grateful for the warm comfort the drink brought. Though she didn't drink it for the comfort. There was plenty of comfort on the Sunny; in fact, she was completely surrounded by it daily. Comfort from the fact that the people on this ship were indeed her Nakama. Dear friends who would protect each other from whatever the world threw at them. In fact, Robin was starting to believe there was no challenge they couldn't overcome if they were all together. And that was that. She smiled as she took another sip of coffee.

_To Chopper, watch was scary. _The reindeer had one of the last watches, just because he had tried to postpone the inevitable as long as he could. Every night, he would almost hug the mast, jumping at just about every creak the ship made, and every wisp of wind that vaguely sounded like a voice. Several times, he would turn into Heavy Point, just to reassure himself that he was in no danger... At least no prominent danger. However, even Chopper couldn't deny that when the sea was quiet- nothing but the gentle hum of the waves rocking the Sunny like a lullaby being heard- watch could be very nice. Sometimes he even had to rub his eyes to keep from falling asleep when the ocean was at its quietest. But then something in the Sunny would squeak and the doctor would scramble to his feet, teeth chattering and breath heavy. He would even sometimes sneak into the men's quarters and sit amongst his crewmates to feel more comforted. It always worked like a charm, because usually watching the men sleep was really funny to watch. Chopper would leave when he thought he was about to laugh out loud from Luffy and Sanji's sleep-arguments about food. But there was never a doubt in the reindeer's mind that he had to be out on watch. He knew he did, and he would never refuse, because he knew that if anything should happen, his Nakama would be there to protect him.

_To Sanji, watch was a time to prepare. _The cook's shift was last, just because that way he could get ready for breakfast ahead of time. Even so, he made sure not to start cooking anything too early, because his idiot of a captain would undoubtedly smell the aroma and come sneaking down to the kitchen to steal something. That was specifically why he had bought and placed a giant mouse trap in front of the fridge to restrain Luffy if he ever came down for a "midnight snack" or tried to eat something during his watch shift, which he usually did. Sanji even went to the length of placing a huge lock and set of chains around the fridge, so that the rubber man couldn't reach past the trap and open it that way. Luckily, Luffy wasn't very crafty, so these tricks always worked on him. But every morning, Sanji would unarm the kitchen so that he could start making breakfast for his crew. Ever since Franky and Brooke joined, he'd had to cook a lot more, which was no problem for him of course. In fact, he welcomed the extra two mouths to feed, mostly because making more would only help his skill. And he knew that between Luffy and Brooke, no food would ever be wasted on their ship. Preparing breakfast also gave Sanji time to think. Think about their previous adventures together, and what sort of unnatural thing would happen today. Ever since he joined this motley crew, Sanji found that less and less surprised him. From giant whales, to Shichibukai, to talking animals, including a swords-wielding giraffe and a wolf with a moustache, he figured he had seen a lot of what the Grand Line had to offer in terms of strange things. But he also thought about all of the excellent things that this crazy crew and their adventures had brought for him: beautiful ladies- Nami-swan and Robin-chwan were definitely what kept him going!- , Nakama, wonderful memories, and general happiness. True, things like the Marimo head nagging at him tended to piss him off, but Nakama were Nakama. And he'd make sure they all lived to see Raftel. That was his job, after all.

_To Usopp, watch was a test of manhood. _Ah yes, the great Sogeking is depended on by his Nakama to protect them in times of need!! And during night watch… But that was a given. The first couple times Usopp had gone out for night watch, his knees would shake at just about every sound. He would practically leap into the men's quarters when his shift was over. But, as time went on, he started to try and view it as a way to prove himself is anything excited actually happened. Imagine, Usopp saving the entire crew from a giant squid or something! … Wasn't very likely… But, distracted by illusions of grandeur, the sniper rarely thought about the high possibility of him flailing and running for Zoro or Luffy if something like that DID happen. Usopp actually tended to spend a majority of his time on watch updating his weapons and attacks, trying to be as strong as he could when the time actually came that they would need him. Because after Enies Lobby, and after he actually thought he would never see Luffy and the others again, he wanted to make a hundred percent sure that he could protect his Nakama. If he was to become a true brave warrior of the sea, that was the least he had to do. They had always protected him and stood by him, and took him back even when he had dishonored them and abandoned them. They never abandoned him. And that's what fueled Usopp's decision to stay with this crew forever; and be with them when they finally got the One Piece.

_To Nami, watch was necessary. _Though the navigator was known for being cunningly able to snake her way out of unnecessary, unprofitable, and dangerous situations, she was actually the first person to volunteer for night watch when it was just her, Luffy, and Zoro. Needless to say, Nami had a lot of common sense and smarts; more than most everyone else on the crew except maybe Robin. She knew that at sea, anything could happen at any time, and they had to be prepared, especially on the Grand Line where her navigational skills were oftentimes useless in the crazy and unpredictable weather. She had to admit though; watch could be rather boring sometimes. A lot of the time she would sit in the cover of the crow's nest and write in her log book by lamplight the things that she couldn't jot down during the day, since tons of things happened to them everyday. She had come to the conclusion that there was no such thing as a normal day if you were aboard the StrawHat ship. At first, these random things would freak her out, but by now she had gotten used to most everything. Even the unpredictability of the Grand Line didn't seem to faze her much now. Around the Thousand Sunny, even at night, she felt protected and comfortable, knowing that if anything DID happen, they would all be able to handle it. She had long since started believing in her Captain when he said: "Don't worry. We'll figure out something somehow." Yes they would. Like they always did.

_To Zoro, watch was routine. _ He would get up from his hammock, make his way up to the crow's nest, and start his normal morning workout routine. The swordsman was, out of the entire crew, the one who didn't think too much when out on his shift. His workouts usually took until the end of his turn anyway, so there really wasn't room for thinking about anything else… Usually. However, after Thriller Bark, things had changed indefinitely. He had become more intense with his workouts, even though now they made him sweat twice as much because of his near-fatal injuries from Bartholomew Kuma, the Shichibukai whose image was burned into the swordsman's brain for eternity. Zoro ignored the pain he felt though. In fact, he went so far as to try and make his injuries hurt more. Because what was also burned into his brain was the huge red ball that was his Captain's pain, and the sheer agony that was all pent up in just a tiny piece of it. Zoro would never forgive himself for letting Luffy bear all of that, so this new rigorous training was the least he could do to seek forgiveness. It was the least he could do for his entire crew. Zoro vowed to protect them until the day he died, no matter what. They were his Nakama, and they needed him. If he couldn't protect their dreams, then how was he supposed to fulfill his own?? And that was the only thing Zoro thought about during his watch shift, because to him, nothing else mattered.

_To Luffy, watch was an adventure. _The Captain of the StrawHats was definitely the one who held the most excitement during his shift of watch during the night, as well as the one who actually wanted something big like a Sea King to pop out of the water. He just treated it like another adventure in the life of a pirate sailing the Grand Line. Of course, since nothing much tended to happen during his turn- which upset him-, Luffy had a habit of trying to think of other ways to have fun during his watch. One of the most fun things to do was try to think up ways to get around Sanji's traps and into the fridge for some meat. Though after about the millionth time being caught in the mousetrap, the boy had to admit that the cook's antics started to frustrate him. When he wasn't trying to get around Sanji's kitchen defenses, he was sitting atop the Sunny's head; his new "Special Seat" since Merry was gone, and smiling into the sea of stars above him, wondering anxiously what kind of adventures awaited him and his crew. Of course, he didn't want the actual answer. That would take all the fun out of being a pirate! Luffy also thought about his Nakama quite a lot when sitting atop his special seat. It was most always good memories, only because Luffy didn't dwell on bad things that happened. His Nakama were strong, and they were always able to overcome the bad things that happened, so those things didn't really bother him much. And even if a situation did seem impossible for the crew, he would always be there to help them and protect them. They were his life, and if something happened to them, there would be no will, no ambition, no drive left in him. That's why he would sacrifice everything to keep them safe from any threat. After all, what good did becoming the King of the Pirates bring if you didn't have your friends there by your side?


End file.
